Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to portable communication devices, and more particularly relate to a holder for holding a portable communication device for ease of use of the portable communication device.
Mobile phones, such as smartphones, are used in a variety of environments for communication. Numerous environments in which mobile phones are used require essentially hands free operation of the mobile phones for safe use. One environment in which hands free use of mobile phones is increasing is the automobile environment in which a driver of an automobile may be required to operate the automobile with minimal handling and minimal visual interaction with the mobile phone while driving. Numerous governments have legislation requiring hands free use of mobile phones while driving automobiles and drivers have generally become aware that essentially hands free use of mobile phones while driving improves safe driving.
Various devices provide a limited solution for hands free use of mobile phones while driving. Some of the devices that provide for hands free use of mobiles phones while driving include: i) wired headsets that include microphones and relatively small speakers (e.g., transducers) that fit into or onto a user's ear; ii) wireless headsets, such as Bluetooth devices; iii) a hands-free wireless speakerphone, such as a Bluetooth device that mounts either on the dashboard or the sun visor; iv) a hands-free factory-installed Bluetooth speakerphone device; and v) a hands-free kit designed to dock a mobile phone where the hands-free kit provides a relatively large speaker and a directional microphone; and vi) and a holder that acoustically couples the loudspeaker of the cell phone into an acoustic horn that is designed to mount to a windshield or to an air vent.
Each of these devices has specific limitations in providing its intended function. For example, wired headsets are cumbersome to handle. A wired headset includes a headset plug that needs to be plugged into a jack of a mobile phone, and includes an earpiece that needs to be positioned onto a user's ear. Wireless headsets similarly include an earpiece that needs to be positioned onto a user's ear, and have to be charged for use. Trying to put an ear piece onto one's ear while driving and trying to answer a call is difficult for many people and can therefore be very distracting. Further, making sure a wireless headset is charged for use is difficult for many users. Speakerphone devices often have microphone sensors that are placed relatively far (e.g., 30 centimeters or more) from a user's mouth. Considering an automobile's noisy environment, there is typically a relatively large amount of noise that is picked up by the microphones of the speakerphone device. Further a speakerphone kit needs to be installed and can be expensive. In the case of the holder with an acoustic horn, the present art teaches that the holder should be attached to a windshield by suction cup, or mounted to an air vent, or attached to a dashboard. With a mobile phone docked in a relatively open space in an automobile, such as on a dash board, sound reaching a microphone of a mobile phone from the talker may be distorted from reflections inside the automobile and the background noise will be relatively large compared to the sound from the talker.
A known problem with mobile phones is that the loudspeakers are generally weak. The space available in a mobile phone for a loudspeaker's transducer is relatively small so the loudspeaker's transducer is neither powerful nor efficient. In an automobile, the sound output of typical mobile phones is relatively weak compared to the background noise.
Some accessory devices for playing “louder” sounds from a mobile phone utilize an acoustic horn to increase the loudness of the sound from the mobile phone. Acoustic horns are well known devices that have been used since the invention of the phonograph for playing sounds louder. An acoustic horn plays a sound louder by improving the impedance mismatch between a sound source, such as a transducer, and the air. Since the loudspeaker of a mobile phone has a small diaphragm, an improved acoustic impedance match is achieved by attaching an acoustic horn to the port of the mobile phone's loudspeaker. The result of attaching an acoustic horn to a loudspeaker is generally improved acoustic efficiency with a small horn “amplifying” high frequencies and a large horn “amplifying” low frequencies. U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2002/0009195 to Schon describes a mobile phone holder that includes a forward-directed acoustic horn to enhance the sound emitted from a loudspeaker port of a mobile phone. The forward-directed acoustic horn of Schon primarily directs sound forward from Schon's mobile phone holder, which provides beneficial sound direction for a listener positioned with Schon's mobile phone holder facing the listener.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,428,665 to McLaughlin describes a mobile phone holder that has a horn that mates to the loudspeaker port of a mobile phone. In that holder, the sound is routed from the bottom of the mobile phone upward toward the listener's ears when it is clipped onto a seat belt. Horns generally require accurate placement of the mobile phone into the holder to mate with the horn to efficiently transfer the sound energy. Mobile phones usually have a protective case that can make the connection to the acoustic horn very leaky, decreasing the efficiency of the sound enhancement. This makes it very difficult to design a holder that can fit a multitude of different cases even for the same mobile phone. Acoustic horns generally need to be large compared to the mobile phone in order to achieve efficiency with frequencies below 1000 Hz. This causes the acoustic horn to take up additional space making the holder bulky and unattractive.
Additional problems exist with using mobile phones while driving, such as diverting one's eyes to the mobile phone to operate the mobile phone's buttons. Many mobile phones, such as smart phones, have very few hard buttons that a user may use for tactilely guiding the user's fingers to the hard buttons without having to look at the hard button. A hard button is a traditional button, such as a mechanical button, an electromechanical button, or the like. In contrast, many mobile phones, especially “smart phones” only have soft buttons that do not provide any tactile guidance for locating the soft buttons and generally requiring being looked at to locate the soft buttons symbol. A soft button is a button displayed on a touch screen and may be activated by touch. One example of a soft button is a mute control soft button that may be displayed on the touch screen of a smartphone where the mute control soft button may be touched by a user to mute the microphone of the smartphone. In U.S. Pat. No. 8,428,665, finger guides are described for a holder so that a user may determine the location of the soft button icons by finger guides that provide a tactile pattern that can be felt by the user.
An additional problem with existing mobile phone holders is that it is necessary to look at the screen while attempting to access necessary buttons and screen icons.
Therefore, an impetus exists for creating a new device for mobile phone use in automobiles where the new device aids the user with hands-free operation of their mobile phone, provides for relatively clear sound emission, provides for relatively undistorted sound pick-up of a user's speech, and do so without a large horn, and do so with greater reliability when using a finger guides, and make it easy to remove the device from the holder.